Alison
Hoblyn lives in Oxfordshire with her architect husband and two daughters.
At age eleven her first published piece was a descriptive letter
to a girls’ magazine about a visit to Spain.

After
a thirty year hiatus in her writing life – which she filled
with the visual arts as a designer, artist and teacher – she
returned to publication in the form of a book on painting techniques
and articles for magazines. This enjoyment of words led her further
to write fiction. Her other passions are gardens and travelling
and the inspiration for her stories most often grows from visually
arresting places.

The
idea for The Scent of Water grew out of the image of renewal –
brought by water to a thirsting plant – and a visit to a sublime
Tuscan garden. She also wanted to explore the way both art and wisdom
can have an influence on lives lived centuries later.

“A
transformational story. A journey through loss and change, to
forgiveness, faith, and new beginnings.”

Synopsis

Ellie,
an artist in her middle age, needs to live her life in a new way
after the death of her husband. Feeling fearful but doing it anyway,
she enrols on a garden course in Tuscany one spring.

Here
she begins relationships with fellow students Nerine – an
eccentric character in her seventies – and the much younger
Max. Through the teaching of Salvatore – the owner of an
ancient palazzo – Ellie comes to find that the universal
truths, expressed in the Renaissance painting Primavera and the
philosophy of Marsilio Ficino, still hold a potent relevance

Reviews

“I
really enjoyed the book. So much of it was quietly beautiful and
delicately perceptive and the plotting was good.

You
assemble an utterly convincing cast of characters right from the
beginning, and the novel's real strength lies in the way understanding
of these builds, so that even when we are confronted by the worst
things....we are still required to see this as just another aspect
of multi-faceted humanity, which we, like Ellie, have to come to
terms with.

So,
many congratulations on your insights – and incidentally on
the knowledge and love of art and gardens which shines through each
chapter.

What
a deeply satisfying ending. It is full of hope, and a sense of
rightness...which is exactly what I for one, want from a book.”

Bel
Mooney, journalist and broadcaster

‘This
book is a joy… lyrical and contemplative.’

Marina
Oliver

‘Lyrical
prose, a good, strong storyline, plenty of soul searching and last
minute revelations all add up to an excellent read.’